Among the many to be listed, the dissolution of Parliament could be considered the biggest misstep by Agustín I. So, after the arrest of opposition members and violent protests by lawmakers, he issued a fatwa-like decision. His desperation to hold on to power made his situations in Mexico even more precarious.
"Things get a lot more complex after the arrest of opposition MPs. Reconciliation with Congress is practically impossible, and one should better get ready for the civil war right away," I weighed in my mind the political landscape.
It was he whom I needed to stop, but I knew well not to simply rush to confront him. Being the eldest son to the Emperor did have its complications, but it would have been madness to interfere with what Agustín I was trying to do before understanding the situation in full.
'Understanding the situation in full'.
It was the year 1822, and things in Mexico were turbulent. It was also a country that had fought its bloody war against Spain, gaining its independence only in 1821. Mexico also had a rather complicated road to independence which involved people like Miguel Hidalgo, José María Morelos, and Vicente Guerrero. Another important fact was that the war in itself had been extremely debilitating to the country. Following the War of Independence, the new nation was divided deeply between conservatives and liberals, while the structure of its government was unstable at best.
I took a deep breath and knocked on the door of my mother's chambers.
Knock knock.
"Mother, it's Geronimo."
"Come in, our son."
By her tone of voice, I could feel that she was very much for the body I was in. Without any memory of Geronimo Iturbide, firstborn son of Agustín I, I felt a sense of comfort and complication toward her. Most mothers are naturally sympathetic toward their children, but not always-especially within such a volatile political environment.
"If you're going to kill me, I can tell you some stories. The other gods are great at that."
I muttered under my breath, thinking about the Mexican grandfather. In the intricately designed room, I met Ana Maria, the mother of the body I was now occupying. Her name, in English, would be Anna Maria, but it was a necessary adjustment to make to the Spanish pronunciation.
She looks like a modern 36-year-old woman.
She was not a ravissante but had that distinguished mark of a woman from a rich and influential family. Agustín I had become a landowner thanks to her substantial dowry. I could only imagine how wealthy her original family must have been since they had much influence in the new Mexican Empire.
"Son, what's wrong? It has been a long time since you came to see me," she said with some surprise at my sudden appearance. I don't know anything about the details, so I replied.
"I came to see you."
"What? You are my son?" She asked playfully.
What?
For a moment, it sent a cold shiver down my spine, but the reassuring smile on her face conveyed that she had been joking.
"Of course, I'm your son. Who else would I be?"
"You've been avoiding me lately. Are you tired of me already?"
Oh.
I realized the body I was now inhabiting was 15 years old-just the age at which adolescents love to pull away from their parents. It was the frustration of this body's former occupant I was only just beginning to understand.
"Ha-ha, I guess so. By the way, your father has been very busy lately, hasn't he?"
I hastily brought up a subject to lighten it. My mom just sighed as I raised it.
"He fights with those of the Congress every single day. Though he is already the emperor. nothing can help this anymore."
"You've avoided the worst," I said, thinking of the larger political situation. If Agustín I had problems with Congress, perhaps the arrests of opposition legislators hadn't yet taken place.
Sí, that would seem to be so.
Since the moment I entered this body, I didn't have any memories of it, neither did I have some special abilities which would make me stronger or wiser; all I had was dependence upon the situation at hand, and quite fortunate it was that timing seemed to work for me. It was in the summer of 1822-a full year after Mexico gained independence from Spain in 1821-yet tensions within the nation had not been dampened.
The country had, in fact, traversed a very tortuous road to independence, and the rise of Agustín I to power was a critical turning point. He originally fought for independence as a general and was hailed as a national hero. However, his coronation as Emperor Agustín I in 1822 was highly controversial. His elevation to emperor had polarized the nation, as many viewed him less as an independent leader than as a symbol of the old royalist regime.
Since the opposition arrests occurred in August 1822, and the dissolution of Parliament happened later that year in October, this date would have fallen between July and mid-August 1822.
"So, this body is 15 years old, right in the midst of puberty," I said to myself.
I asked my mother a few more questions to get a better sense of the general scenario of the country at the time.
"What is happening in the country these days?
It probably sounded like an odd question from a 15-year-old to his mother, but the newly independent country was in a political shambles at the time. Odd as it was, the question was timely.
"Ah, so that's why you really came to visit me. You are interested in my job."
"Yes, I'm crown prince now."
"Ho-ho, it feels a little strange to think of you as grown-up all of a sudden. But you're right, you are the crown prince now, and it's good that you're showing an interest in the affairs of the country. What would you like to know?"
"What happened to the peninsulares?" I asked, trying to get a sense of the political situation.
"The majority of them returned to Spain with the War of Independence," she said. "After the war, few remained."
The peninsulares were Spanish-born aristocrats who, during the colonial period, had occupied the highest positions in colonial Mexico; Spain had sent them to rule the colonies. They were the ruling class, and most of them opposed the independence of Mexico because of the fear of losing their privileges. Many of the peninsulares had left after the war, but some remained behind.
"And what of the ones who did stay? For how much longer are they given?" I continued.
" Very few are left and who are remaining are very soon going to be deported" she replied
Oh dear, so deportation orders for peninsulares had begun some time ago as I could get.
The peninsulares had held many of the most important positions within the colonial government. Without them, the already fragile administrative structure of Mexico would suffer even more. Many peninsulares were among the most educated in the country, often bringing knowledge of the Industrial Revolution, advances in science, and other European developments with them.
"Well, taxes aren't being collected properly," I noted, concerned about the nation's financial situation.
"I know, it's a bad situation, but don't worry. We'll manage somehow," my mother reassured me. She patted my head, trying to soothe me, but the reality of Mexico's situation was far more dire than she was willing to admit.
The truth was that the finances in Mexico lay in utter disarray: after a War of Independence, in which there was heavy bloodshed, years in duration, it had come out with its debts heavy; the administration was destroyed with hardly any tax gathering going on with most of its provinces up in arms in active rebellion against the government in its center.
Lacking experience to manage the country's affairs, Agustín I and his advisors were politically incapable of understanding how parliamentary politics worked. Factions competed with one another in the interests of themselves, with no clear-cut doctrine for the future; Mexico appeared about to break up.
"¿Se paga a los empleados y tropa?.
"I don't know much about those details. but I think so," she stammered out, clearly doubtful.
That's why the army abandoned Agustín I.
This body's father—Agustín I—had three great sources of power:
Public Support: Agustín I was the hero of Mexico's independence. Though his popularity had waned after his coronation as emperor, he still retained the loyalty of many who saw him as a symbol of the nation's struggle for independence.
Military Support: As a former military general, Agustín I had been in control of Mexico long before he became emperor. The military, therefore, remained loyal to him.
Conservative Support: The church and landowners, who were opposed to drastic social changes, supported Agustín I because of his royalist background and his status as a landowner.
"No matter how much money you have, you have to pay the army's salary. If you lose their support, it's all over," I thought, understanding the precariousness of the situation.
The most crucial to these was the military. While the army stayed loyal, Agustín I smothered any uprising of the republicans or provincial rebels. But having the soldiers not get paid for so long, it was about time they started an uprising against him.
"In the end, it's all a question of money," I grumbled.
There were possible ways to resolve the financial issue in Mexico, such as tapping California's vast supplies of gold-but the timing was another story. California Gold Rush wouldn't be until 1848, and for early 19th-century ways, travel would take a number of months to reach the area of California.
'I must think of another,' I said aloud to myself as a headache encroached trying to think how I should proceed.
"Mother, what about the property of the peninsulares?" I asked hopefully, thinking there was some untried asset that could be of use.
"They could only have taken with them their treasure, but most of it, their lands and ranchos, remain. Many of them had bought farms through agents," she explained.
"So, Spain wouldn't be able to send troops here now, right?" I asked further.
"Spain is in no position to deploy any military forces at the moment," she replied, echoing the political reality of the time.
Spain was embroiled in its own political turmoil due to the ongoing Napoleonic Wars and the Carlist Wars, which would keep it from acting on its imperial ambitions in the Americas.
"Then we could seize their land and property without immediate retaliation?" I mused aloud.
"I don't know. it seems too radical. If we do that, we risk provoking Spain into military action," my mother warned.
Indeed, in the future, Spain would try to reconquer Mexico, but for the time being, that was still years ahead.
"Perhaps that is better than letting everything collapse," I said, realizing that the situation was worse than I thought.
"You know how the army's loyalty is crucial," she replied, a hint of concern tingeing her voice. "Without it, we risk losing everything."
We headed to the Palacio Nacional, Mexico's seat of government. It was an imposing structure, symbolic of the dreams of this fledgling empire. I walked beside my mother, lost in the fragility of this situation.
Agustín I will have to listen to me, I told myself as I steeled myself for the conversation to come.
At stake was the future of Mexico, and I could afford nothing less than to fail.
"Do you think he'll take me seriously?" I asked my mother.
She hesitated a moment before responding.
".I don't know. But if I speak for you with him, he will not altogether disregard you."
With those words of reassurance, I went into the meeting that would decide the future of Mexico.